“This is It”, the long expected Michael Jackson movie opened last night in 99 countries with premieres in New York, LA, Tokyo, London and Madrid and thousands of fans queued to be the first to see it.

“This is It”, the long expected Michael Jackson movie opened last night in 99 countries with premieres in New York, LA, Tokyo, London and Madrid and thousands of fans queued to be the first to see it. The film weaves together footage from the rehearsals for Michael’s series of 50 concerts in London – called “This Is It” – and taped clips that were to be shown at those concerts. “What’s insistently evident in all the rehearsals is how little age and turmoil had scoured Michael’s talent” HollywoodLife.com thrilled “Michael Jackson is spectacular. Spectacular voice, spectacular dancing, spectacular style, and spectacular creative vision -in many cases some of the most wondrous things we’ve ever seen Michael do with his music.”

Elizabeth Taylor, a long time friend of the pop star, posted on Twitter: “It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael’s genius in every aspect of creativity.”

“This Is It” is also thick with poignancy, especially in rehearsals of his Jackson 5 tunes and in a gripping “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” In Madrid more than 200 fans queued for the movie, which started at 2am. Rosala Vega, a cleaner said that if falls asleep on the job today she will have an excuse: “I go to work at 6:30, but it’s worth it”

“This is It” is expected to bring in more than €400 million during its two week run.